


Les Amis de l'Arospec

by starlightwalking



Series: A-Spectrum Anthology [18]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aromantic Awareness Week, Gen, Intersectionality, Les Amis as an Arospec Support Group, Queer Characters, Trans Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 08:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13760457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Enjolras conducts one of the first few meetings of Les Amis de l'Arospec, a support group for aromantic spectrum people.





	Les Amis de l'Arospec

**Author's Note:**

> This is the most self-indulgent fic I've ever written; it's mostly just my headcanons for Les Amis and their arospec identities. I've had this idea floating around for ages and finally put it all together :)  
> Featuring a lot of background pairings, some of which are romo and some of which are not: Bahorel/Feuilly, Cosette/Marius, Courf/Ferre, & Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta.  
> Hope you enjoy !

"Thank you all for coming today," Enjolras began. "I'm very glad that this club has had so much success! I know that aromanticism is a lesser-known orientation, and I'm thrilled that we can all connect in a group setting like this. We are fortunate to live in such a big city, and one with a sizeable university, so there's enough of us to make a club like this."

There was a murmur of consent, and beside him Courfeyrac applauded loudly. Enjolras smiled at him, amused, then turned back to the assembly of people before him. "Before we get started today, I'd like to thank my co-coordinators, Courfeyrac and Combeferre. If you didn't know, we've been good friends since childhood, and probably subconsciously connected because we were arospec."

"Some of us knew before others," Combeferre said drily.

"We'll get to that." Enjolras nodded to him. "I couldn't have organized this without you two, and I'm very thankful for your friendship."

Courfeyrac opened his arms for a hug, but Enjolras held up a hand. He didn't really like that kind of contact, especially not in public. Courfeyrac smiled and gave him a thumbs up, understanding. He'd been friends with Enjolras long enough to know and respect his boundaries.

Instead, Courfeyrac slid into his boyfriend's arms. Combeferre held him gently, watching as Enjolras continued to conduct the meeting.

"Today, I'd like this meeting of Les Amis de l'Arospec to be a getting-to-know-you sort of event," he said. "If you're comfortable, I invite you to share your stories about how you figured out you were arospec and why you're here." He cleared his throat. "I'll go first.

"I think I've at least introduced myself to everyone, but just in case, I'm Enjolras; I use he/him pronouns." He smiled, then dove into his story. "When I was younger, I'd always make up crushes on the guys around me, because of, you know, heteronormativity. I'm trans, too," he added in explanation. "I tried again and again to, like, force myself into romantic situations, but I always ended up either hating it or turning it into a normal-ish friendship."

"That's how he met me!" Courfeyrac burst in. "We dated in middle school for like, a month, until we both just kind of forgot we were 'together'." He added air quotes around the word, making it sound like the silliest possible thing. Enjolras laughed, and the everyone else in the room relaxed a bit and chuckled along. The aromantic energy began to lift Enjolras's spirit.

"I don't know how I didn't realize I was aro sooner." Enjolras shook his head. "I guess it was that kind of uncomfortable longing to be 'normal' or whatever...I couldn't accept being aromantic even after I knew about the term. But over a couple years, in high school, I finally came to terms with being aroace. It didn't click at first, like I hear some people say, but—it's who I am, and I'm happy with that. I want to share that and show other aro people that it's okay to be who they are, and create resources for us like there are for ace people and other queer orientations."

"Um," someone in the group said. It was a person Enjolras didn't recognize, looking around awkwardly. "Uh, is it okay if I ask a personal question, Mr. Enjolras?"

"Just Enjolras is fine, we're all friends here," he said. "And yes—I'm sharing my personal experiences. Ask away."

"Hi, I'm Marius," the person said, waving nervously. "I'm, um, an ally? I'm just here with my girlfriend. I hope that's okay."

"I invited you, and I did ask first," the girl sitting next to him assured. "He's just uncomfortable with strangers," she explained.

"I'm uncomfortable with everything," Marius admitted. (Behind him, Enjolras heard Combeferre mutter, "Big mood.") "But, Enjolras, I was watching a video on the student council website and in it you said you were, uh, gay? Sorry, I'm just wondering, how does that work if you're also...?"

Enjolras nodded. He'd been wondering when that question would come up. "I've been experimenting with that label, too. It's easier to explain to people, and though I'm absolutely aroace, I think I might have some other sort of attractions to men."

He could tell by the confusion on Marius's face that he didn't really get all that, but they could go over the split attraction model and the complexities of labels and the concept of being an oriented aroace in some other meeting.

"Plus, I take a lot of pride in the wider LGBTQ+ community and that's a unifying word," he continued. "Even if not everyone uses it, which I get. I was that way for a long time too."

Enjolras felt a bit uncomfortable divulging such personal information to a group comprised mostly of new acquaintances, but he hoped it would foster a welcoming, open atmosphere and educational opportunities. Plus, it wasn't like he could look more awkward than Marius, who was sweating buckets just asking a question.

"So that's my story," Enjolras concluded. "Would anyone else like to share?"

There was a pause; then, Marius's girlfriend raised her hand. "I'll go."

"Thank you," Enjolras said, relieved that this plan was starting to work out.

"My name's Cosette Fauchelevent," she said, waving with a smile. "I'm a demiromantic ace girl—she/her pronouns. I hope that's okay to say if I'm cisgender...?"

"It helps normalize pronoun introductions, you're good," Enjolras confirmed.

"Lovely!" Cosette beamed. "I discovered my labels online—well, probably most of us did. That's not the interesting part of my story, though. I was more invested in being ace, at first, and I still am since I do have a romantic boyfriend." She nudged Marius, who blushed. "But I'm actually introduced my dads to the aro spectrum!"

There was a murmur of surprise. "I didn't know your dads were arospec, 'Zette!" another person said.

"You don't know them that well, Éponine," Cosette explained. "I was raised by Papa, and though we don't look much alike—I'm Black and he's mixed French-Canadian and Latino—I couldn't have had a kinder man as a father. He never took a wife, and eventually I realized it was because he's gay. But it gets more fascinating.

"My other dad, Javert, is a cop, and he and Papa used to be kind of...rivals, I guess? It's a complicated story, maybe I'll tell it some other time. Anyway, they reconciled when I was about twelve and started a relationship, but they never really got into the romantic side of it. But when I told them I was demiro-ace, it's like Papa's world changed!" Her eyes lit up, and Enjolras' heart swelled.

"Papa realized he's aromantic, too, and I helped him find resources." Cosette beamed. "He didn't want to come here, because it's mostly teens and twenty-somethings, but he said he loves the idea."

"Tell him that he's welcome, any time," Combeferre said.

"I will!" Cosette said. "Especially since Javert is also kind of questioning. It was hard for him to admit he was gay, and now that he might be arospec, too... I think he could use the support."

"That's why I made this club," Enjolras said, trying to keep his emotions in check. "So all us on the aro-spectrum could come together."

"If 'Zette told her story, I guess I should tell mine," Éponine said. "I'm Éponine, she/her, please. I'm an aromantic lesbian." She grinned awkwardly and made finger guns at Enjolras. "Gay squad?"

"Hell yeah," he said, making finger guns back.

"I...okay, so. Long story short, I thought I was in love with this guy for a long time, but turns out I was just dealing with a lot of internalized shit," she said. "Like, it's whack. I was kind of involved with the lesbian community, 'cuz I figured that out first, but when I realized I was also aro, I got some shit about 'sexualizing lesbians' and kinda distanced myself from those assholes. I went to some a-spectrum spaces but they were so ace-centered that I felt alienated from there too." She shrugged. "I'm trying to reconnect with both parts of my sexuality, though, and so far I've met some real great lesbians, and you aros seem super chill too. My sister is pan and she's really great about everything, so—things are looking up."

"That's lovely!" Cosette said.

"Just so long as no one tries to date me," Éponine added. "I am  _not_  about that life."

Enjolras chuckled. "Relatable."

"Is it alright if I go?" another person asked.

"Of course, Feuilly!" Enjolras exclaimed. He was always excited to hear from Feuilly: though he hadn't known them long, he loved their unique perspectives on social justice and their entire personality. He could see them becoming one of his closest friends, given time.

"Hey everyone, I'm Feuilly," they said. "I use they/them pronouns, and before anyone asks, yes you can be nonbinary and still have a beard. It's totally okay, I haven't had my card revoked."

Enjolras thought he probably laughed the loudest, though the whole club seemed to enjoy the joke. He was grateful that Feuilly could make people comfortable like that.

"My story's kind of simple," they said. "I knew I was gay from a young age, it was apparent in my mannerisms and besides, I liked dudes. I didn't know I was n.b. then, obviously. I never really felt comfortable with the whole 'love is love' aspect of the gay community, though, it kinda made me feel bad. I thought for awhile I was just weird, but since I was just having fuck buddies and not actual, like, boyfriends, it wasn't a big deal. I finally started realizing I was nonbinary and becoming comfortable in my own skin, but by then—"

"I came into the picture," the person sitting next to Feuilly finished. Despite how big and muscular and bearded Feuilly was, this person was taller, beefier, and hairier; still, they were markedly different in appearance. "Hey, I'm Bahorel, Feuilly's uh—boyfriend, I guess. Wassup?"

"He/him," Feuilly reminded. "Normalizing pronouns, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I use he/him pronouns," Bahorel added.

"Yeah, well, we'd been, um, friends with benefits for awhile and Bahorel wanted something more." Feuilly scratched their beard thoughtfully.

"Not 'more', bruh!" Bahorel assured them. "If all this aro shit's taught me anything, it's that romance isn't  _more_."

"Damn right!" drawled a person in the corner. Enjolras scowled upon seeing him: Grantaire never took things like this seriously. But he controlled himself, because although it was irritating to have Grantaire around, he had a point.

"We're getting ahead of ourselves," Feuilly said, shushing their boyfriend. "Do  _you_  wanna tell it?"

"You know what, sure!" Bahorel smirked. " _My_  story is—okay, so I've been bi since as long as I can remember. Like, dudes, right? And there was that one girl, wa-a-y back when, and like, I  _do_  have eyes, I can tell when a girl is hot. But Feuilly, they're something else. And I don't mean that 'cuz you're nonbinary," he said to them. "Like, you're so chill and great and the best b—partner ever."

"Shut up, this is literally an arospec support group, don't get mushy on me!" Feuilly said, swatting him gently.

"Okay but like, mush doesn't mean romance!" Bahorel insisted. Watching such a tough-looking guy act all soft and emotional was a delight to Enjolras's little gay heart; hearing him talking about how romance wasn't all that made his aro brain shush his heart to listen.

"So I started thinking I was aro, and I told Bahorel," Feuilly said.

"I thought I was telling the story!" Bahorel complained. "So when they said that, I was like 'oh shit I'm coming on too strong' and backed the hell up. I was legitimately so new to all this nonbinary and arospec stuff that I spent hours researching—you would not  _believe_  how much time I spent on tumblr those days."

"He was unbearable," Feuilly groaned. "Even when I did want to hang, he was either balls-deep in obscure queer blogs, or laughing about memes."

"But then, like, I realized that maybe I was kinda aro too!" Bahorel continued, ignoring them. "I'm still not really sure but it would explain a  _lot_  about my past relationships. All these terms and stuff are so neat and helpful. I'm thinking maybe quoiromantic right now, but like, who the fuck actually knows?" He laughed.

"So yeah, we worked things out," Feuilly said. "Our relationship is like, super weird and kiiind of queerplatonic, I guess? It's all complicated and confusing and we're still working it out, but I'm super glad we've got so many options."

"And this club is neat!" Bahorel said. "Feuilly's been to the first few meetings, but this is my first time and I'm already loving it. Thanks, dude!" He offered his fist to Enjolras, and he gently gave it a tap with his own fist.

"How 'bout I go?" a tall person with long hair dyed bright pink asked. "Or us, I suppose. If those two can do it as a couple, let's do it as a triad. I'm Chetta, by the way. She/her." She draped her arms around the two people on either side of her.

"I'm Bossuet," the person on her left said, smiling and revealing a missing tooth.

"And I'm Joly!" the person to her right said. "Oh—Bossuet and I both use he/him."

"You wanna start, Chetta?" Bossuet asked.

"So like, being aro really isn't that big of a deal to me, I have to admit," Chetta began. "I'm an Afro-Latinx trans lady so most of my issues stem from that, and all my activism has gone there. Plus, I'm polyamorous. So I've got a lotta things to worry about, though I am heterosexual, cuz  _guys_  am I right?" She giggled, and Bahorel clapped in agreement.

"Damn right," Grantaire called out again. Enjolras tapped his foot, waiting for Chetta to continue.

"For me, 'aro' is about as specific as I want to get," Chetta said. "Sure, I love my boys, but I don't really feel like I have to nail it down any more specific than that. I know Feuilly said 'love is love' makes them sick, but for me I see it different. Like, my love is love because it is, and I don't have to prove it's any one kind of love."

"That's a good way to look at it," Feuilly agreed. "I mean, I still don't like the term, I've got too much history with it...but I'm glad it works for you."

"Thank you!" Chetta said. She smiled. "I wish other people were respectful like that. I know some ladies at the club I used to work at..." She shook her head.

"Hey, but this is place is a lot better than there," Joly reminded her. "I guess it's my turn? Alright. I always thought I was aroace from the moment I first heard about it, and for years that was my truth. It was great, until I got to med school." He sighed. "Then I met this person...xe confessed feelings for me and suddenly I was head over heels. It didn't last long, though. Later there was a girl—same thing happened! Nothing until she told me she loved me, and then we dated for two years and had a messy breakup. Everything I was afraid of about romance all came crashing down, and I swore I was done."

"How did you end up with me and Chetta?" Bossuet asked, scratching his head. "After all that?"

"Because you listen," Joly said seriously, and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "Anyway. I figured out I'm recipromantic, and then I met Bossuet, and damn... he said he liked me and I started liking him too but it was weird, not like normal? I actually told him about that and he said—"

"I told him I was really so unsure about every feeling I'd ever had that it made sense he was unsure too," Bossuet admitted. "Not super optimistic, I guess, but I'm not the luckiest guy around." He pointed to the gap where his tooth should be. "See this? I lost it 'cuz I fell down the stairs and hit my face. Not even a good story!"

"I don't know if that's really how it works, I guess, but I explained to Bossuet that I was arospec and he had this like,  _oooohhh_  moment!" Joly smiled. "It was amazing, to see him realize in that moment that there were words for it."

"I'd always kind of just...went along with whatever my partners suggested to me," Bossuet said. "Nothing really  _stuck_. I knew I wasn't straight but I couldn't figure out was I  _was_. I kinda feel that way with gender too, but that's another story. And I'm still not really  _sure_  what I am—maybe like, aroflux? and bi? but those labels still feel kind of weird. I'm just happy to know I'm  _somewhere_  on the aromantic spectrum."

"How did you two meet Chetta?" Cosette asked.

"Oh, I was friends with Joly," Chetta said. "I tried to hook up with him once but he was not really into it and introduced me to Bossuet. So I was hooking up with Bossuet, and Bossuet and Joly were in some kind of relationship, and then Joly and I made out one time in the library and eventually we just kind of...tumbled into it all together."

"It's kind of a mess, but it's a good mess." Bossuet smiled. "I think that should be my life motto. 'A mess, but a good one.' I like it."

There were still a handful of people who hadn't told their stories. There was a moment of silence, and then Enjolras stood back up.

"Does anyone else want to share?" he asked. "You don't have to, of course, but I'd like to give the offer."

A pause—and then Combeferre cleared his throat.

"I was waiting for a moment like this," he said. "But even though I've been thinking about this since Enjolras suggested the idea, I'm still not exactly sure where to start."

"How about with your blog?" Courfeyrac teased.

"Don't be  _mean_ ," Enjolras scolded, knowing full well that was something Ferre remembered with embarrassment.

Combeferre shot Courfeyrac a dirty look, then began. "I'm Combeferre, and I use he/him pronouns. And yes, I did run a kind of cringey, kind of popular tumblr blog about being an aro teen."

"Oh my god." Grantaire snorted. "Of course you did, you fuckin' nerd."

Combeferre only smiled, showing infinitely more patience than Enjolras would have. "Yes, well, it helped me learn a lot. I can name you every arospec label and term under the sun. I haven't been on the blog for years—I'm no teen now and I hope tumblr has been rotting in purgatory where it belongs—but I'd like to think I helped  _someone_."

"I'm sure you did," Courfeyrac said. "You know you helped me!"

"I hope I'm less...aggressive than I was back then." Ferre shook his head. "Well, I'm a gay aro guy. Grayromantic, to be more specific. I don't really want to go into extreme detail, but I've really only felt romantic attraction once, for this little shit here." He winked at Courf. "We're boyfriends, but like, something I've learned in all my aro years, is no aro person's relationship, romantic or not, is gonna be...typical. Especially not ours."

"Aww, that's sweet," Courf said. "You're gonna make me blush!"

"It was simply an observation, not a compliment," Ferre clarified.

"Whatever!" Courfeyrac jumped to his feet. "Hello, amazing aromantics and associates! My name is Courfeyrac, I go by he pronouns, and I  _love_  going into excruciating detail about myself, unlike my nerdy boyfriend!"

Marius laughed, then fell quiet as no one else joined in. Courfeyrac smiled at him, then continued.

"I am a demiromantic polysexual queer trans guy, I like guys and some nonbinary people, and I love my boyfriend in ways both Hashtag-Super-Romo and Totally-Not-Romo!" Courf exclaimed. "I've had exactly four crushes, all of which on close-ish friends and none of which on Enjolras—"

He nudged Enjolras, who rolled his eyes. At one point, he'd been irrationally jealous that his only flirtation with Courf's love life had been a middle-school lowkey-"lesbian" relationship they both immediately forgot, but he was long since over it. They had both turned out to be trans dudes and not lesbians at all, and Enjolras didn't  _actually_  want Courf to be attracted to him; besides, he knew that he was very close friends with Courfeyrac because of other things.

"There are some  _handsome_  gentlemen in this room, and you too, Mx. Feuilly, but alas I am monogamous!" Courf placed a hand over his heart dramatically. "And I am more than in love with and still  _super_  aro with Combe—"

The door swung open. Everyone turned to see who had interrupted Courfeyrac, and Enjolras had a hard time taking in what he saw.

In walked a teen dressed obnoxiously in yellow and green, blinking in shyness. Long, well-kept dreadlocks and a serious red bowtie contrasted paint-splattered neon green overalls and a huge flip-flops. The strange aesthetic was completed with a butterfly hair clip, too much glitter makeup, and a backpack covered in pride pins. This person was a fashion disaster, and even Enjolras could see it.

"Hello?" the teen asked hesitantly, clutching a rainbow notebook. "Is there where Les Amis de l'Arospec meet?"

"Uh...yes!" Enjolras said, springing into action. "Welcome! I'm Enjolras, he/him, it's nice to meet you! We're actually sharing our arospec stories right now. Would you like a chair? You can sit down and listen, or—"

The teen cast off the backpack dramatically and proclaimed: "I will share with you... The Tale Of Jehan Prouvaire!"

Utter silence. The teen bowed, then took the offered chair and began.

"I'm Jehan. My pronouns are—well, I'm trying out fae/faer, but if that's difficult, they/them will suffice." Fae took a deep breath. "I am only seventeen years of age, but I feel I know myself— _deeply_. I am an aromantic Romantic (with a capital R); I adore the Romantic Era. I am aroace and nonbinary, with so many layers to myself I cannot simply  _explain_  them all."

"Oh god," Combeferre whispered. "It's like the weird tumblrite teen of my past has come back to haunt me—only this baby Ferre took a few more drama classes."

"Give faer a chance," Courfeyrac hissed. "If that's true, fae's struggling to find peace with faerself just as much as you were."

"I have known that I was aroace for much longer than I even knew my gender," Jehan said. "And I have struggled for it. My—my parents are evangelical Christians." Fae smiled bitterly, and Enjolras's heart swelled in pity. "I have friends, at school and online, who support me...but, well, my freshman year, the GSA leader was extremely aphobic."

"Oh no," murmured Chetta.

"She bothered me so much that I came to my principal—who outed me, though not maliciously, to my parents," fae said. "Thus came the dreaded day where I had to talk them out of putting me into conversion therapy." Fae shuddered. "I am safe for now, but the threat remains. I have hidden my queerness from them, and even now they believe I am studying for my finals, not attending a meeting for those like myself."

"That's so brave," Cosette said, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry, Jehan."

"I hope you keep being brave, kiddo," Bahorel said.

"You'll find happiness," Joly promised.

"After all, the rest of us have!" Éponine added.

"Speak for yourself," Grantaire muttered, but Jehan ignored him.

Fae smiled shyly. "I am sorry I came late; I would have loved to hear all your mighty tales. You are honorable friends already!"

"I'm Cosette, she/her," she said. "You look familiar—do you go to MHS? I just graduated last year."

"Yes, actually!" fae replied. They continued to talk about high school, and the structure of the meeting slowly dissolved. Enjolras smiled.

"I think that about wraps it up," he said. "Thank you all for coming, our next meet—"

"Hold the fuck up," Grantaire said, raising a hand. " _I_  didn't tell my story yet."

"You...have one?" Enjolras inquired, dubious.

"Of course, why d'you think I'm here, sunshine?" Grantaire asked.

"I'd rather you didn't call me that."

"Alright, buttercup. You gonna listen?" Grantaire demanded.

Enjolras bit his tongue and glared at Combeferre. If he opened his mouth, things wouldn't turn out well, but level-headed Ferre could handle this.

Combeferre nodded. "Of course we'll listen."

"Alright, my dudes and dudettes and duderonis," Grantaire said, cracking his knuckles. "The name's Grantaire, but y'all can call me R. Gender is generally just shitty and awful, but he or they pronouns are chill." They paused, ruminating on their thoughts and how best to express them in order to rub Enjolras the wrong way. "I guess, all I gotta say is...I'm lithromantic and hella bi and it fucking sucks a lot sometimes and...yeah."

There was a pause. Everyone stared, waiting for him to continue.

"Well?" Courfeyrac prompted. "Is that all?"

"I think I'm starting to regret this," R admitted.

"It's okay, this is a safe space," Cosette said. "We won't judge."

"Yeah, R, come on," Éponine encouraged. "It'll be good to get it out."

R retreated further and further into their dark green hoodie. He looked extremely uncomfortable, and for all Enjolras disliked him, he wasn't about to let this fly in his club.

"Hey, folks," he interrupted. "They don't need any pressure. If they want to share, they can do it on their own terms."

"I don't need you to stand up for me, su—" R broke off, scowling. "Yeah. Okay. Sorry, y'all. I'm only here to disappoint."

"This is a voluntary exercise, and you shouldn't feel ashamed for only sharing what you're comfortable with," Enjolras said. "Thank you, R."

He turned away, but he could feel R's eyes burning a hole into his back. He shivered uncomfortably, but moved on.

"Thanks to everyone who attended, aros and allies and all!" Enjolras said with a genuine smile. "Our next meeting will be in two weeks from today—bring your alloromantic friends, it will be an educational seminar!"

He closed the meeting and watched everyone leave. At last, only he and Courf and Ferre were left.

"That was great!" Courfeyrac exclaimed.

"You dealt with Grantaire really well," Ferre said, nodding to Enjolras. "Even better than me."

"I hope he comes back," Courf said. "I think this club would help him out a lot."

"One can hope." Enjolras sighed. "I feel really good about the whole meeting. It went much smoother than I thought it would, and there are some really interesting people who shared."

"You're doing a great thing, Enj," Ferres aid.

Enjolras smiled. "I think you're right. And I really hope we can all become real  _amis_ , in time."


End file.
